Group singalong

A guitar or piano player isn’t always necessary – but they’ll help encourage people to sing. Even a harmonica will do!

If you’re choosing obscure songs, provide lyric sheets

You’ll never know when’s best to start a singalong, so just play it by ear. You may also want to take your singalong into the streets. This is indeed the most soulful of party entertainment ideas!

Scavenger hunts

Plan these a day or two before your party, including prizes.

If it’s an indoors hunt, be creative with which items to include.

An outdoors hunt won’t require too much planning, as it’ll rely on players’ imaginations. Make sure to set a distance limit though.

A successful hunt also needs: copies of the scavenger lists, pen, paper, stopwatch to time the game

Players will need a digital camera (let people know in advance to bring).

Trivia games

Adding a gameshow changes up the energy of your party. Quizzes can be played in pairs or small teams, with a ring-a-bell or buzzer aspect. Play for prizes.

Get dancing

A party without music is a party everyone leaves quickly from. Don’t be that party.

If you can afford it, hire a DJ. Make sure you brief them in the style of music you want for the night.

For a more personal touch, creating your own playlists can be more fun – for you – and more rewarding for your listeners/dancers. You can still have someone DJ for you, but this time to your own eccentric music taste.

The only downside to creating your own music is you’ll need to schedule time to do it

You also have to make sure you don’t get carried away when making them; choosing tracks can be an involving process

It’s important to create an interesting playlist, one that’s unpredictable. Not only will this keep guests dancing, you’ll want to intrigue them too.

So mix popular songs with obscure ones, musical scores, songs in different languages.

You know you’ve mixed a great setlist, when you’re asked “What’s this song? I’ve never heard anything like it" or “Where can I find that song?"